As I opened my computer this morning, I saw a story that, once again, touched my heart deeply; a 24 year old son doing an interview pleading for knowledge about his missing mother. As the tourist season on the Grand Strand in South Carolina is preparing to open, with headlines about all the latest attractions, we have forgotten a story that one family lives with each and every day.
It's reported that in 1990, Larry Hayslette, Andrea Hayslette's husband and father of her two children, was convicted of a charge of domestic violence against Andrea, an incident where he attacked her in the shower, held her hostage in a locked bathroom for hours, then tried to make her leave the home, still naked. She stated that Larry was often violent if under the influence of alcohol.
In 1993 Andrea Hayslette was a straight A student at local Coastal Carolina University where she also held a part time job. She was married and the mother of two small children, a devoted mother, preparing for a career in marketing and communications, getting ready to take her final exams. One of the things in her regular routine was taking her two children to the library in Surfside Beach twice a week. By all accounts of both friends and family, Andrea would never leave her children behind, so to assume that she somehow walked away from her life doesn't add up.
On April 24, 1993, Andrea was last seen by a neighbor at the Deer Track Villas in Surfside Beach where the family of 4 lived. By April 28, 4 days later, she was reported missing by her parents because it was not in her character to be out of communication with them for that length of time, and to be away from her two small children. Her truck and her van, along with all of her clothing and jewelry, were still at the home, but missing was her suitcase, toothbrush, her purse and other personal identifying items.
When her parents returned from a trip to Disney World with grandson, Ryan, his younger sister, Katie, only 2 years old at the time, stated that "Daddy put Mommy in those bushes." Because of her young age, this statement was not allowed to be presented in court, but led investigators to believe that foul play existed and Larry Hayslette became the number one suspect.
By May 24, 1993, a mere four weeks after Andrea disappeared, Larry Hayslette returned to his father's in West Virginia, returning to Surfside Beach one time after that to gather his belongings and move back there. Family court judge awarded Andrea's parents permanent custody of her two small children, a move that was definitely in their best interest considering some of the headlines we read today.
Eventually, in 1995, Larry Hayslette was convicted of forging Andrea's signature on the title of her vehicle for the purpose of selling it, and in 1996 he was charged with Andrea's murder, however, the charges were dropped in 1997 for lack of evidence and this case has grown cold over the years.
Here we are today in April of 2012 still without answers or justice for Andrea Hayslette and her family. Along the Grand Strand we have a couple high profile, nationally known, missing persons. Alice Donovan's case came to a close in 2009, 6 years after she was abducted from Conway's WalMart parking lot, when her remains were finally found, and Brittanee Drexel who vanished from an Ocean Blvd. hotel while on Spring Break in 2009, yet we haven't heard much about Andrea Hayslette and the circumstances surrounding her case.
What can we in our community do to help find the answers? With so many advances in technology in the last 19 years, including DNA and social media, we can do a lot to at least bring the name Andrea Hayslette back into the forefront. News pieces like the one today from WPDE, Carolina Live, helps tremendously, it's this piece that brought my attention to the case, and I'm sure there are others in the area who were not aware of it before. Registering the case with a missing persons organization like CUE Center for Missing Persons located in Wilmington, NC,also raises the awareness level and continues to educate the public on the fact that she is still missing, and offers advocacy for the family and for the case.
The family can continue to make noise publicly and on social media networks to bring awareness back to the investigation. Clues are there, we just need to find them, and to assist investigators in bringing a resolution and justice for Andrea and her family. Over 19 years memories tend to lapse, but someone knows something and has been living with it all this time; hopefully they hold the key and will come forward.
If you feel you have that key, please reach out and contact Horry County Police, Lt. Russell Jordan at 843-915-5350. Case #1993-00014009
NamUs MP # 10575
Case Information
Missing
Andrea
Lynn
Hayslette
April 24, 1993 00:00
05/04/2011
29 to years old
48 years old
White
Female
64.0
100.0
Information for this article gathered from the following sources:
Edwin Coello, an ex NYPD officer, claims, "he doesn't know where she is." He is referring to his estranged wife, and mother of his 5 year old daughter, Tina Adovasio, who has been missing from Bronx, NY since Friday, March 11, 2011.
According to the NY Daily News, Edwin Coello has a long history of domestic violence charges, and was fired from the police force in 2000 for violence against his first wife. As usual, history in violent homes repeats itself, and his marriage to Tina Adovasio was no exception. Records show that Coello was charged several times with violence against her, and just last month Tina filed for divorce, obviously without a secure plan in place for her safety.
Tina Adovasio, a 40 year old nurse, is the mother of four children, who her own mother, Adrienne Susco, is quoted as saying, "He lied and told the cops she had run off before and left the kids," Susco said. "Never, ever would she leave her children." As in just about all other cases where a mother goes missing, a family member makes this statement.
Coello has been questioned by authorities, but denies any involvement with Tina's vanishing; he has retained a lawyer, spurring investigators to take out a search warrant for his car which he refused to allow them to search voluntarily.
Coello admits to having an argument with Tina the night she disappeared, but says that she stormed out of their apartment, leaving everything behind, including her children. The most incriminating piece of information has been a blurry tape of Coello dragging a large duffel bag from the home, reportedly "large enough to contain a body."
The ingredients are all there, once again, for the stew that many missing mothers find themselves in. A past history of domestic violence, so bad that they interfered with his job as a police officer, a wife that had had enough and boldly made plans to end the relationship, and the fact that he was the last person to see her, all adds up to a presumption of guilt. Although not yet charged, nor convicted, and ultimately presumed innocent, Edwin Coello joins the ranks of Scott Peterson, Mark Hacking, Drew Peterson, Shon Pernice, and recently convicted murderer, Doug Stewart, as another man who thinks his wife just "ran off."
Another family is devastated by the not knowing where their loved one is, along with four children who deserve to know what has happened to their mother. Of course, hope is always there that she is found alive, perhaps safely escaping the anger and wrath of a man who's repeatedly beaten and abused her.
Tina Adovasio is described as 5-foot-5 and 135 pounds with a slim build. She was last seen wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and Ugg boots.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 1 800 577 TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website.
If you are reading this and find yourself in a similar situation, know that there are measures you must take before announcing the end of your relationship. These safety precautions can be found in the book, "Time's Up: A Guide on How to Leave an Abusive and Stalking Relationship" by Susan Murphy Milano. Don't take things into your own hands without expert guidance.
Body found in woods may be missing nurse Tina Adovasio
March 17,2011
A body was found in the woods near Mohansic Golf Course in Yorktown and a law enforcement source told The Journal News that police believe it is that of Adovasio, 40, who went missing Friday.
A New York Police Department spokesman confirmed that belief but referred questions to Yorktown police.
Body of missing Bronx mom Tina Adovasio found in woods; husband expected to turn himself in
Investigators identified the body of Tina Adovasio through photographs and a tattoo after she was discovered off the Taconic Parkway in Yorktown Heights, the sources said.
The medical examiner hadn't yet determined the exact cause of death, but sources said investigators believe the 40-year-old was choked to death.
Teenagers riding all-terrain vehicles found Adovasio's body in a wooded area about 100 yards off Baldwin Road and reported it to police at 5:53 p.m., police said.
Edwin Coello, 40, whose marriage to Adovasio was marked by bouts of domestic violence, was expected to turn himself in to authorities Thursday morning, law enforcement sources said.
'He hit me too': Ex partner of 'violent' former cop who is 'person of interest' in wife's murder speaks out
March 20
A former girlfriend of the 'violent' ex cop who is a 'person of interest' in his wife's murder has come forward saying he used to beat her too.
Glory Perez was with ex-NYPD officer Eddy Coello for three years in which time she says he used to beat her 'with balled fists' and even threatened her with a gun.
Shockingly, she said: 'He would point the gun to my head and look me in the eye and say, 'Today you are going to die. 'I would beg for my life.'
Days After Discovery Of Wife's Body, Ex-Cop Arrested
March 22
A former NYPD housing officer was arrested today, the same day as his estranged wife was being buried in Putnam County. What Eddy Coello, who had a history of terrorizing Tina Adovasio as well as a previous girlfriend, was charged with is unclear, but according to the Post, "A team of eight plainclothes cops hustled a handcuffed Coello out of a side entrance to and brought him to the back seat of an unmarked car with tinted windows and drove off." And a law enforcement source told the Daily News, "It was just a matter of time. Outrageous he ever wore a badge."
Rebecca Ware of St. Augustine, FL, didn't show up for her job at Hydro America for two days, which led to family members filing a missing persons report declaring her missing since October 29.
Recent reports say that she had been involved in past violent relationships, and family members are worried that fact may be connected to her disappearance.
Her car was found abandoned in the parking lot of a local grocery store and is being processed for evidence as the search for Rebecca continues.
A release from the sheriff's office said detectives have developed new evidence over the last three days that pushed them to reclassify the case.
Investigators now suspect foul play, and have a person of interest, although they are not releasing any further details at this time.
There have been four missing women this year in St. John's County. The first two, Brittany Tavar and Jan Keller were killed. The case of Shannon Hawkins, who disappeared in July, is still unsolved.
Rebecca's employer is offering a $5000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest of the person responsible for her disappearance, as well as the local Crimestoppers reward of $1000.
Rebecca Ware is5 feet 7 inches tall and 160 pounds with blue eyes and dark brown hair with blond highlights.
Anyone who may have come in contact with Ware since she disappeared or who may have additional information concerning her whereabouts should contact St. Johns County Detective Charles Brantley at 904-824-8304 or Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-888-277-TIPS.
November 19 http://www.news4jax.com/news/25851033/detail.html ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Deputies searched a wooded area in southern St. Johns County on Friday in connection with the case of a 34-year-old woman who disappeared three weeks ago. Last week, the Sheriff's Office said they had developed a person of interest in the disappearance of Rebecca Ware and said for the first time that foul play is suspected in her disappearance.
Just as others who have come after her, many whose names have been in the news or discussed on the internet, Kimberly Ann Langwell somehow knew her demise. She was involved in an unstable connection with an ex-boyfriend, but had begun a new relationship, was very close to her teenage daughter, as well as her sister and family. Kimberly would never walk away from those who loved and cared for her, especially the daughter with whom she shared a special bond.
July 9, 2010 marks 11 years since the evening she left work in Beaumont, Texas, checked in with her daughter, informing her that she needed to stop by the ex-boyfriend’s, and that she would be home within a couple hours. When too much time had passed, her current boyfriend retraced the route she would have taken, and found her abandoned car. Her purse and keys were gone, but left behind were her cell phone and other personal items, items most women would keep on hand if they were walking away to a new life.
Like the others, Kimberly had been threatened and frightened of her ex-boyfriend, who, by the way, has not been named in any news articles I could find. She was frightened to the point of telling her sister that if something happened to her, that she did not commit suicide, and where to look for her body; she intuitively knew something bad was about to occur and wanted someone to know. Unfortunately, it was not enough, and as the years of investigation have gone by, Kimberly is still missing.
Searches of the area around her abandoned car turned up no clues as to what could have happened, and many have speculated that her body could have been dumped in any number of abandoned wells in the area around Beaumont.
As is often the case, the daughter left behind grew up, married and left town. Often the feeling that others look at you differently when you are a survivor of a tragedy, the fact that there are few resources of support, and your own internal pain, cause you to search for new beginnings. Not only will she endlessly search for her mother, she will be endlessly searching inside herself for answers, often re-living the event.
Every July 9, devoted supporter, DeDe Keene of A.M.A.L.P. Ministries, gathers others together and returns to the last place that Kimberly was seen, the parking lot where her car was found, and passes out fliers to spark the memories of those who live nearby. Someone knows something, someone has the clues that will unlock the mystery and someone has the ability to give her family peace.
If you have any information, no matter how small, as to the whereabouts of Kimberly Anne Langwell, please notify the Beaumont Police Department 409.880.3865 or call 911
Last Known Location: Phelan and Dowlen in the parking old of the former Eckerds
Name: Kimberly Ann Langwell
Nickname: Kim
Sex: Female
Race: Unknown
Age: 34 YOB: 02-24-65
Height: 5ft 4in
Weight: 135 lbs
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue
Vehicle was located in the parking lot of the old Eckerds store on Phelan and Dowlen. There were no signs of struggle. Her car is a 1994 Silver Nissan Altima.
Case: 99-17661 Beaumont Crime Stoppers - 409-833-8477
In remembrance of all the Mothers written about on this site, as well as all the missing mothers who have not yet come home. May their children know that they are loved always and forever.
“Imagine if Stacy Peterson, Lisa Stebic, Renee Pagel, Mary Jane Zich, Kelly Currin Morris, Mary Badaracco, Peggy Dianovsky, Kelliesue Ackernecht,Sandra Travis, Rachel Conger,Theresa Parker, or Renee Pernice had the opportunity to complete the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit.....the offenders would be arrested and these cases would be resolved.”.
“Been there, done that…” Susan Murphy- Milano has turned a tired phrase into demonstrable realism through the gift of her newly published book, TIME'S UP: A GUIDE ON HOW TO LEAVE AND SURVIVE ABUSIVE AND STALKING RELATIONSHIPS. Susan’s writing is based on doing. It is based on the irrefutable credential of experience, both as a residual victim of interpersonal violence and a tireless advocate for others who suffer. This book is born from working in the trenches for twenty years and the necessity of crafting working solutions to help ensure individual safety from batters and stalkers.
TIMES UP is a comprehensive guide for women in danger. Every advocate owes it to those they work to assist to obtain this book.The contents provide specific steps towards safety and addresses issues that a person who is stressed and in fear may not think of. This guide can provide structure in the midst of chaos.
Among the tools and forms is the original idea of an “Abuse Affidavit”, a sworn statement detailing the facts of an individual’s victimization, preserving the specifics so they are not lost even if the victim is. It is difficult to think about speaking from the grave but no different than any life insurance policy obtained in consideration for those left behind.
An “Abuse Affidavit” has the additional psychological benefit of being forced face reality and admit that the potential for the ultimate kind of violence exists…and that if it occurs the perpetrator will be held accountable.
Purchase and read TIMES UP as an advocate to continue to learn and practice informed advocacy. Give TIMES UP to concerned friends or family members looking for solutions for a loved one who is in danger. Most of all, find a way to share this valuable guide with the domestic violence and stalking victims you know and work with. It has all the information and tools to empower a crime victim to save her own life. Order now fromAmazon.com
ISBN #9781608443604 Also available as Ebook from several sources!
The following article shows the connection from domestic abuse to missing mother. Maybe not physically missing, however, she is missing from the lives of her children. Her children are, in most cases, left behind to deal with the aftermath for the rest of their lives.
The cases listed below are just a tiny example of an ever increasing list of women (and men) who are taken down by the manipulative, angry, and deadly abuser.
Just two weeks before she was killed — run over by her estranged husband in his car — Walz had obtained a protective order from a court in Cincinnati ordering him to have no contact her — even with her permission.
But Paul Walz spent most of the evening drinking with his estranged wife on the night she was killed, Boone County sheriff's spokesman Tom Scheben said.
Paul Walz told police the two had just left a party when she opened the door to his car and leaned out to vomit. She fell out and suffered fatal injuries when he ran over her, police say.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, drunken driving and violating a protective order, and a trial is set for Jan. 18, 2010.
Deputy sheriffs in Hamilton County, Ohio, had charged Paul Walz two weeks before his wife's death with domestic violence and felony assault for allegedly running over her foot with his car. A protective order issued on May 25 ordered him to have no contact with her.
AMY DAVIS, 29, Jeffersonville, Ky., May 29
Amy Davis' family knew that her relationship with her ex-husband, Tony Patterson, was rocky, but they say they never suspected it would end violently.
She had taken out an emergency protective order against Patterson, but only because Amy's daughter — one of three children she'd adopted with Patterson before the two divorced — had told her that her ex-husband had made inappropriate sexual comments.
“It wasn't about violence to her,” said Davis' father, Ralph Davis.
Patterson couldn't accept the fact that she had met another man, Ralph Davis said.
“He kept calling her at all hours of the night,” he said. “She would change her number, and he would still get a hold of it.”
Nine days before she and Patterson were scheduled to appear in Montgomery County for a hearing on the protective order, Patterson forced his way into her mobile home southeast of Mount Sterling, shot and killed Cain, then chased Amy Davis into the yard and shot her dead, before killing himself.
“This just blindsided everyone,” Ralph Davis said. “He was always making threats, but we didn't think he would deliver on them.”
DANA GABRIELLE MCDONALD, 26, Louisville. Feb. 20
A therapist and nurse at the Home of the Innocents, Dana McDonald had been living with 29-year-old Michael Elery for about two months when they got in an argument two weeks before Christmas last year.
He refused to leave, so she called police, at which point he warned her that he would beat her up when he got out of jail, she said in a petition for a protective order.
“I think Michael will harm me,” McDonald wrote. “I want Michael to stay away.”
After hearing Elery's side of the story, a judge issued a domestic-violence order for three years, ordering Elery to stay 1,000 feet from her, and away from guns.
On Feb. 20, 2009, Elery was picked up in Harrison County, Ind., on a charge of public intoxication and told police he had assaulted his girlfriend in Louisville, according to court records.
McDonald was found dead of blunt-force injuries and multiple stab wounds in the apartment and Elery was charged with murder. He has pleaded not guilty and his trial is set for Aug. 27.
TASHA DYE, 35, Westport, Ky., Nov. 19, 2007
Tasha Dye was scared. Her estranged husband, Charles “Chuck” Dye whom she was divorcing, had threatened her and her family, she said in a petition for a protective order on Oct. 25, 2007.
That day, he had come to the home they had shared near the Ohio River, knocked on the door, and then barged in when she said to go away, she said. She locked herself in a bathroom and called 911, and he fled when he realized she'd called police.
But she had taken out a protective order against him in the past, and knew that other women had as well. “I am fearing he will do something to hurt me and my family,” she said in her petition.
Family Court Judge Tim Feeley had issued a domestic-violence order, instructing Dye to stay 500 feet away from Tasha and her mother, Carolyn Schildknesht, 55. There was no restriction placed on firearms.
The next month, three days after their divorce was final, Chuck Dye, 51, came to mobile home that Tasha Dye was sharing with Schildknesht, chased his ex-wife into the front yard and shot her in the head before killing himself.
“I really don't know what more could have been done to protect her,” said Joe Wells, her divorce lawyer. “The DVO was in place. All the boxes were checked like they're supposed to be.”
But Oldham County Police Detective Paul Kerr, who investigated the murder-suicide, said a GPS monitoring system — like the one proposed by House Speaker Greg Stumbo — may have saved Tasha Dye's life.
Although Chuck Dye lived close to his ex-wife — and could have beaten police to the scene if they had been alerted that he was approached her — Tasha Dye also would have gotten notice and would have had a chance to flee, Kerr said.
He said Chuck Dye would have been a perfect candidate for electronic monitoring.
“We knew him for years,” Kerr said. “We knew he was a violent person.”
A waitress and mother of three children, Theresa Hicks once tried to get Robert W. Casey out of her life, then let him back in.
On Sept. 30, 2006, after Casey, a disabled former gas station worker, smashed the window of Hicks' van, cutting her and two of her children, she won an order requiring him to stay away from her for two years.
“He threatened my life,” she told District Judge John McCarty.
But four months later, she asked to have the order “completely dropped.”
McCarty refused to do that, ordering Casey to continue in anger-management counseling, and to refrain from further violence or harassment. At Hicks' request, though, he dropped the no-contact order, and the couple reunited.
“He persisted until she came back,” said Jennifer Anderson, Hicks' sister.
On Oct. 17, 2007 — a week before the protective order was to expire — Hicks and Casey went out drinking, got into a fight, and Hicks was pushed, fell or jumped from a moving vehicle, police said.
Hicks died of multiple blunt-force trauma and Casey was charged with murder, drunken driving, violating a protective order and assault of another person earlier the same night.
Casey eventually pleaded guilty to violating the order and second-degree manslaughter, and was sentenced to 10 years. His public defender, Lelah Rogers, declined to comment.
Anderson said her sister was “miserable” in her relationship with Casey.
“She didn't want to go back to him,” Anderson said. “She began living with him to get him to leave her alone.”
There are many strategies that are available that may have been able to save the lives of these women.
Our country's attorneys, judges, advocates and citizens must start practicing better procedures to help victims of abuse stay alive.
Obviously an Order of Protection is nothing but a paper trail of future abuse
This story is of a mother who really didn't "go missing" but vanished right before her son's eyes. This is a story that connects the dots between domestic violence, murder, and a child who will forever be branded as the "kid whose mother got killed."
As the trial proceeds and witness after witness describe the events, a young 13 year old boy is sharing with the jury what he saw that afternoon as he was being picked up from his father's after a custody visit. To say that the "family" had a strange living arrangement is an understatement.
Micheal Lister, Anthony Lister's father, was also Tracie Raisner's EX-boyfriend. Living in the Lister home was Micheal's wife of 25 years, his current girlfriend and 6 of his children by 3 different women. Needless to say, this doesn't sound like an "Ozzie and Harriet" type of household.
Testimony revealed what Lister's own lawyers say was an ''unusual'' living arrangement at Lister's home. Staying there were Carol Lister, his wife of 25 years; Christina Murawski, his girlfriend; and six of his children by three women.
On the evening of the shooting, Lister got a call letting him know Raisner was dropping Anthony off, Carol Lister and Rivera testified. He then had Murawski get his gun, and he holstered it and went outside, they said.
Anthony Lister saw it all. At 12 years old he watched as his father gunned down his mother on a sidewalk in front of several people begging him to stop. He is the one who ran to her and cried frantically over her lifeless body. Anthony Lister will never, ever forget what he saw that day as his mother lay dead.
Michael Lister will be found guilty of something, whether it be first, second or third degree murder, or voluntary manslaughter. He will serve jail time, but it will be Anthony, now 13 and entering the turbulent teens that will be forever serving a life sentence. I doubt that after this trial we will hear about Anthony Lister again. As he continues on with his shattered life he could go down as many paths as the directions of shards of broken glass. Will he choose a path of destruction or will he choose to find strength to break the chains from the anger, sadness and defeat he must be feeling? He couldn't save his mother that day, no matter how hard he screamed for her to come back to him.
Anthony has joined the ranks of the thousands of children who have lost a parent to violence. We don't hear much about these kids, and probably don't wonder about them either. They tend to be "yesterday's news" as a more thrilling story comes to the media outlets. Have you ever thought about the scars these children carry? There is not much help available for the child victims of violence as they are shuttled through the system or through family members. They are expected to grieve, move on and get over it.
In Honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Author and Expert Domestic Violence Strategist, Susan Murphy Milano, is offering her innovative book, Moving Out, Moving On at a discount to anyone who is in a violent relationship, or knows someone who needs to safely move away from abuse.
This book is available in quantity for agencies, shelters, coalitions and any other organizations who deal with victims of abuse.
For the month of October you can order a hard copy of the book which includes a CD of all of the important forms you will need to use. The hard copy (for $15 including postage) can be ordered at the following email:
The Ebook also includes samples of forms to use, as well.
Moving Out, Moving On will not only save you thousands in dollars, it could very well save a life!
Through clear examination, simple forms and worksheets, Moving out, Moving on , logically takes the reader through all the necessary preparation and information gathering to effectively seek legal redress, protect one’s assets and credit, address considerations regarding children, define alternate living arrangements, and deal with the myriad of financial problems and concerns surrounding a divorce or break-up. Moving out, Moving on, also addresses in detail abusive relationships, domestic violence and stalking and how to safely confront these situations.
Moving out, Moving on , is more than a simple workbook, but a true plan to take control of one’s life and face the future head on. This is not just another “divorce book” written by a so called “expert.” Moving out, Moving on, is authored by a person who truly knows…Susan Murphy-Milano
Long before Peace4 the Missing was organized the news broke about a young mother who went missing in Bolingbrook, IL. Her name is Stacy Peterson. Almost 2 years have passed since that day in October, 2007 and many, many more news stories have, and still are, being discussed about what may have happened to Stacy.
Tons of people gathered at various forums and message boards to talk about the latest news, speculate on what happened, and, unfortunately, pick apart every aspect of the lives of those involved. Several blowouts occurred, other splinter forums were created, and the circus surrounding Stacy Peterson was led by the ringmaster, her husband.
As we near the two year anniversary of Stacy's disappearance, I would hope that many of the circus performers have cleaned off their clown makeup, that hurt feelings have been mended, and that the microscope of speculation has been put away.
In 2007 Stacy was a rally point for passionate people who came together in her honor, many have scattered all over the internet and many have started new, successful ventures that probably would not have happened if it weren't for Stacy Peterson.
October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As the internet has grown to bring us information in a flash, it's also come to be a way for all of us to communicate and pass on information and search for solutions. As we use this October to honor Stacy Peterson, to remember her, we also would like to take this opportunity to rally around this awareness campaign.
On Saturday, October 24, several local area people will be partnering with Guardian Angel Community Services for a 5K walk to raise funds to continue their services to victims and families of domestic violence. We have set up a team, "Angels For Stacy" partnering with Peace4 the Missing to give everyone an opportunity to participate.
If you are nearby, we hope you will walk, if you aren't, we hope you will help with support, sponsorship, or donations, if you can. Please join our Team and show your support for Stacy Peterson, ALL missing persons, and the victims of domestic abuse. It's FREE to join and be a member!
We will take your questions live in the chat room discussing the dangers Stacy Peterson and Kathleen Savioendured while married to a violent abuser with a badge and what measures they could have taken to escape.
Learn what you can do in preparing to leave a relationship gone bad with your life!
Susan is the author of "Defending Our Lives, getting away from domestic violence & staying safe and "Moving Out, Moving On" when a relationship goes wrong. Her new book will be available in July 2009, "Time's Up", how to leave and survive a dangerous relationship.
(although Heather Thompson is not a Missing Mother, it's situations like hers that lead to a woman being missing and, in most cases, murdered by her intimate partner)
While her situation is being played out online in a Facebook Group, through messages and emails, Heather Thompson is watching the clock tick. A survivor of a severe case of domestic violence, Heather is watching her time run out.
Very soon her ex-husband, Thomas Price, Jr., will be paroled from Federal prison. The same prison from which he sent threats to kill her and her children. The same prison from which he has had 14 years to think about and plot ways to carry out those threats.
What are the citizens of Charlotte, NC waiting for? Are they waiting for the next headline news story of a bloodbath, where a woman and her family are murdered? Are they waiting to see the day's headlines and then turn away to do the dishes?
This is real life for Heather Thompson.
This is real life for her children and family.
This is not just another headline waiting to happen. Or is it?
Yes, there are things that Heather had the opportunity to do with the last 14 years, but she chose to rebuild her life, remarry, have more children and put the past behind her. But now that past is back to haunt her. Maybe she should have done some things differently, maybe she should have just left the family and surroundings that she knows and loves and went underground, knowing that this day would come.
Heather chose to be an outspoken spokesperson for domestic violence. After her brutal attack, billboards were placed around Charlotte, NC so that everyone could see the injuries inflicited upon her and maybe think twice about going home and beating their partner. Maybe Heather saved a few women that way.
Heather has spent the last 14 years, the years that Tommy Price has been in prison, speaking out for victims, serving on the board of directors of domestic violence groups , and letting women know that there is hope, that their is a way out of a sickening situation.
Heather's hope has run out. What will it take to save her life? Is there a safety plan for her? Is there anywhere she can turn and not live in fear? Is there any way to keep Tommy Price from snuffing out the lives of his ex-wife and children? What are the odds?
I'm sure Tommy Price has a cheesy grin on his face today, knowing that his actions have stirred up so much controversy. If there were any way left in our justice system to keep him behind bars, it would be a blessing, but I doubt that is going to happen.
Every day in our country we read about cases where a partner continues to victimize and uses their children as pawns in their game. Child murder and suicide seems to be epidemic. Where is our judicial system in all this? It is flawed to say the least.
So what can we do to keep Heather Thompson and her family alive? There aren't many options left. She is at the eleventh hour and there are not too many places left to turn. If Tommy Price is paroled, Heather Thompson's death cerificate is as good as signed unless drastic measures are taken quickly.
As just a concerned person with no knowledge of the law and how paroles work, I have no answers, but I know with every breath in my being that someone out there knows.
If you have the knowledge and wherewithall to stand up and do something to help Heather, please do it. Do it quietly, do it behind the scenes, don't announce to the world and pat your own back, just take the ball and run with it.
Please save a life today.
To read about or contact Heather, please read at her group on Facebook
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